The UK Government has reinforced its support to the Somali Security Forces (SSF) through an additional contribution of £2.3 million to the United Nations Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) Trust Fund.
The new funding was announced during a meeting between the newly re-appointed Minister of Defence H.E Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur and UK Ambassador to Somalia, Kate Foster. The new contribution to the UNSOS Trust Fund will enable the provision of critical, non-lethal logistical support, including food, medical evacuation and other supplies.
British Ambassador to Somalia, Kate Foster said:
The UK’s £2.3 million contribution to the UNSOS Trust Fund will be crucial in maintaining SSF capabilities to over 10,000 Somali troops in the fight against Al-Shabaab
The new funding builds on longstanding UK support to the Somali Security Forces and the UNSOS Trust Fund. In 2021/2022, the UK provided £4.9 million of funding to the UNSOS Trust Fund, which supplied Somali soldiers and police officers with a year’s worth of support.
UK contributions to the UNSOS Trust Fund are in addition to UK military support to the SNA. Since 2016, the UK has trained over 2000 SNA soldiers. The training focuses on a range of areas, including defensive operations, basic command and control and the law of armed conflict, leadership, live firing, combat first aid, human rights and gender training to help enhance their efforts in fighting Al-Shabaab.